was a Japanese scholar of New Testament Study and researcher of early Christianity and

Gnosticism Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek: , Romanization of Ancient Greek, romanized: ''gnōstikós'', Koine Greek: Help:IPA/Greek, �nostiˈkos 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems that coalesced ...

. Arai was a Doctor of Theology. Professor emeritus of

University of Tokyo The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...

and

Keisen University is a private university, private women's college in Tama, Tokyo, Japan, established in 1988. The university is linked to the Keisen School for Young Women, founded in 1929 by Kawai Michi, Michi Kawai, the National Secretary of the World YWCA, You ...

(in which he took office as president), and a member of the

Japan Academy The Japan Academy ( Japanese: 日本学士院, ''Nihon Gakushiin'') is an honorary organisation and science academy founded in 1879 to bring together leading Japanese scholars with distinguished records of scientific achievements. The Academy is ...

. He graduated (1962) at Erlangen-Nürnberg University in Germany.

Award

* Prize of Japan Academy (), 1973 * Prize of Society of Mediterranean Sea (), 1998

Life and studies

Arai was born in

Akita prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Provinces and prefectures" in ; "Tōhoku" in . Its population is estimated 915,691 as of 1 August 2023 and its geographi ...

, and he studied at Tokyo University, Graduate school. He acquired the Doctor of theology from Erlangen University in Germany. He and his wife (and daughter Keiko) lived in the early 1960s with the family of the later Bishop of Bavaria and President of the Lutheran World Congress, Johannes Hanselmann, in Grub am Forst, Oberfranken, Germany. Arai was a pioneer of the studies of Gnosticism after the discovery of the

Nag Hammadi library The Nag Hammadi library (also known as the Chenoboskion Manuscripts and the Gnostic Gospels) is a collection of early Christian and Gnostic texts discovered near the Upper Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi in 1945. Thirteen leather-bound papyrus c ...

. He made clear that the Gnosticism which had been considered as the heretic in the traditional Christian churches was not heretic, but the different, independent religion through the study of Nag Hammadi library in Coptic. This was already suggested by the philosopher

Hans Jonas Hans Jonas (; ; 10 May 1903 – 5 February 1993) was a German-born American philosopher. From 1955 to 1976 he was the Alvin Johnson Professor of Philosophy at the New School for Social Research in New York City. Biography Jonas was born in M ...

before the discovery of the Nag Hammadi. Arai published two books in which he discussed the relations between the Christianity and the Gnosticism. First book is ''Early Christianity and Gnosticism'' in 1971, and then second book, ''New Testament and Gnosticism'' in 1988. Arai adopted the concept of ''Daseinshaltung'' by Hans Jonas to elucidate the Gnosticism. He translated and published ''Evangelium according to Thomas'' with detailed notes in 1994. As a Christian scholar, he wrote the book ''Jesus and his Age'' to make clear the historical figure of Jesus in 1974. He published the book in which he explained the position of women in Christianity. Arai was selected as a member of the

in 2001.(ja
Information of deceased member
/ref> Arai died on August 16, 2024, at the age of 94.(ja
Kirishin
/ref>

Works

Books

* * * * * * *

Edited by

References

* (ja

(News of death) artially. for full-viewing, log-in is required* (ja
Sankei online
(News of death) or full viewing log-in is required* (ja
Kirishin
Kirisuto Shimbun (News of death) * (ja

1930 births 2024 deaths 20th-century biblical scholars New Testament scholars University of Erlangen–Nuremberg alumni University of Tokyo alumni Academic staff of Keisen University Japanese biblical scholars Academic staff of the University of Tokyo {{theologian-stub